PRESENTED BY:

July 9, 2025

"One Big, Beautiful Bill" Becomes a Law

At a July 4 White House signing ceremony, President Donald Trump signed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” budget reconciliation package into law, delivering long-awaited tax relief for small franchise businesses.

Why it matters: Long championed by IFA, and one week after 9 franchisees went to the White House to advocate for the bill, the new law consists of several pro-franchise provisions that will deliver critical tax relief for America’s 831,000 franchised small businesses, including:

• 199A Deduction: Made permanent at the current 20% rate
• Estate Tax: Exemption made permanent and increased to $15M/$30M, indexed
• Bonus Depreciation: 100% expensing made permanent for qualified property
• Business Interest Deduction: Permanently restores the EBITDA standard
• No Taxes on Tips: Above-the-line deduction up to $25,000; tip credit extended to salons (2025–2028)
• No Tax on Overtime: Above-the-line deduction up to $12,500 for individuals and $25,000 for couples (2025–2028)

Our thought bubble: With this major victory, franchise owners and their employees now have certainty that key tax provisions will remain in place to support their businesses and encourage future growth, while avoiding a major tax increase at the end of the year.

Franchisee Survey Needs You

We need franchisee input! IFA’s Value of Franchising franchisee survey remains open through July 18. Please encourage all franchisees to complete the survey.

Why it matters: Fresh data from this survey will strengthen IFA’s case for your businesses on Capitol Hill and in state capitals, showing lawmakers how franchises drive jobs, investment, and community impact with their constituents.



What’s next: Here’s how you can help IFA advocacy by not spending a dime: franchisees can take the 10-minute survey, and franchisors and suppliers can circulate the survey link to their franchisee networks so this landmark survey can incorporate the entire franchise community’s perspective.

Court Overturns FTC's "Click to Cancel" Rule

Yesterday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to overturn the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Negative Option Rule, a regulation IFA has advocated against since its inception due to its harms to small businesses and consumers, especially in the health and fitness industries.

Zoom in: A negative option contract involves a category of commercial transactions where subscriptions automatically continue or renew unless the consumer takes an affirmative action to prevent it from continuing or renewing.

Our thought bubble: The ruling was a win for small businesses, who will not be forced to comply with an overly broad regulation imposed by the FTC without the foresight of its ramifications. In June 2023, IFA submitted comments to the FTC expressing concerns, and in January 2024, Sarah Davies, General Counsel of IFA, testified at an informal hearing of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on proposed amendments to the Negative Option Rule. 

DOL Proposes Caregiver Exemption

On July 2, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new proposed “companionship” rule that would repeal a 2013 regulation narrowing the FLSA exemption for workers employed by third-party home care agencies who provide “companionship” services and restore the long-standing exemption for such workers from minimum wage and overtime requirements. 

What’s next: Following a comment period that closes September 2, DOL will decide whether to move forward with the rule.

Zoom out: This rule could be incredibly beneficial for home franchise companies in states that follow the FLSA because (1) it allows clients the continuity of care with one caregiver; (2) it no longer caps caregivers' ability to work as many hours as they want and (3) it removes administrative burdens on agencies currently limiting staff to working 40 hours.

ADVERTISEMENT | Advertise with IFA

Washington State Labor Referendum Looms

Labor organizers in Washington state have pushed a sweeping "Workers' Bill of Rights" initiative onto the November ballot. 

Dive Deeper: If approved by voters, this measure could significantly alter operations, staffing, and costs for franchisees in the Evergreen State. Key provisions include restrictive scheduling for employers, a $20 minimum wage for franchisees, limited hiring flexibility, new notice requirements, and a private right of action. 

What's next: If you have operations in Washington state, contact IFA's Director of State & Local Government Relations, Matthew Kagel, at mkagel@franchise.org to get involved in franchising’s outreach strategy to prevent this unnecessary measure from burdening your business.

“Know Your Rights” Pushed in Minneapolis 

On June 19, the Minneapolis Workplace Advisory Committee (WAC) issued a memo to the Public Health and Safety Committee recommending amending the city's existing Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Ordinance to include "Know Your Rights" training, an effort to indoctrinate employees into a union under the guise of employee training.

Why it matters: If approved, this amendment would require employers in specific industries – many of which are heavily franchised – to provide and pay for one hour of "Know Your Rights" training for their employees. 

What's next: After defeating a similar measure from the Minneapolis City Council last year, IFA is closely monitoring the situation with our state-based partners and will provide further updates as this effort unfolds.

California Increases Franchise Registration Fees 

In response to increasing franchise registration applications in California and demands on existing resources, the legislature increased its franchise registration fees on July 1 through Assembly Bill 137 to provide necessary funding for the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).

Dig deeper: Decades have passed since the last franchise registration fee adjustment, and these increases not only align with inflation but also the principles of responsible franchising that demand financial commitments of both franchisors and franchisees.

Our thought bubble: IFA is pleased that California is taking steps to increase its resources to support the continued growth of responsible franchising and broaden its resources to optimize efficiency in the franchise registration process.